The world of meeting planning can be a heavy load. Work done in breakout rooms or on convention floors is driving a $1.5 trillion dollar industry. So, it may surprise you to discover that behind the velvet curtain, most planning work is pulled off by a team of one! If you’re that planner, you’re also juggling additional company responsibilities on top of your planning duties. It can be impossible to do it all and still ensure that your meetings pack a punch. With so much ROI riding on meetings, you really need all the help you can get. So how can you have stress-free meeting planning? CMPs can help you!
What is a CMP?
CMP stands for Certified Meeting Professional and was a program launched by the Events Industry Council (EIC) in 1985. It came out of the need to hold a booming industry to a level of standard and credibility. It became the benchmark for knowledge in the meeting planning industry.
A Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) is not just a fancy title someone is given arbitrarily. Earning a CMP is lengthy process. A candidate must:
- Longtime employment in the meetings industry
- Dedicated continuing education
- Proven commitment to industry internship
- Be approved to test by the EIC board
- And finally, they must pass a detailed exam to test their knowledge of meeting planning
Having a CMP certification is now recognized globally as a badge of excellence. What does this mean for you? It means peace of mind that you’re working with an expert in the planning field. And when you work with a CMP, they can help take the stress out of your planning process.
Here’s how they do it!
CMPs Turn Your Objectives into Action
Every meeting has a reason. Do you need to unite a team? Improve the performance of a sales force? Roll out new branding? Merge an acquisition into one cohesive company? When you work with a CMP, they can help transform your figurative objectives into tangible reality. They will weave your goals throughout every step of the meeting execution.
They’ll Help You Select Your Site
What’s a meeting without a location? Your CMP can help you from ground up. They will:
- Preview and condense a list of ideal destinations to hold your meeting
- Provide hotel and meeting venue options that satisfy your event needs
- Attend site inspections with you (or for you) to ensure the venues meet your goals
- Help guide you through the selection process to ensure you land on the best destination solution
Painless Registration and Travel
Once you’ve decided when and where to hold your meeting, you need to get your team onsite. Wrangling your guests can be overwhelming. Your CMP partner will help deliver a stress-free meeting planning experience They will take care of the travel planning and attendee registration. From website to follow-up, they do it all. Your CMP planner will assist you in all aspects of getting your attendees there.
Stress-Free Meeting Planning and Content
What’s a meeting without content? Your CMP planner helps you to flesh out your objectives into literal minutes in the day. They will build content around your goals, including:
- Finding the right speakers and presenters – Not all messages can be delivered by internal teams. Your CMP will help select speakers and presenters to drive your points home.
- Special event planning – Welcome receptions, gala nights, and awards ceremonies, oh my! Your CMP will assist you with enhancing your programming with special events to make your experience sing!
- Breakouts and Program Flow – With all that energy, we need to focus the team’s movements. Your CMP will help structure breakouts, map out schedules, and plan the program flow.
- Technical Details: What about the A/V? Your CMP ensures that the necessary technical equipment is in place to deliver your message.
- Food and Beverage – They help weed through the menus to provide solutions for your F&B. They will guide you through the proper ratios of ordering to ensure that you don’t have too much or too little. And they will help manage the dietary requirements of your attendees with the hotel’s offerings.
- Staffing Support – Your CMP will hire the necessary staff to support the infrastructure of the event.
Post Event Loose Ends
A successful event will always have final loose ends. Your CMP will help reconcile final billing. They will gather all materials and company property to ensure it makes it back in your hands. And they can tie a bow on the event with post event surveys to help you track ROI.
With everything else you have to do, working with a Certified Meeting Planner will help save you time. Your CMP planner is your right-hand when it comes to planning and executing a successful meeting. Call us today to learn more about our Certified Meeting Planners. Learn how we can help keep your meeting stress-free!
